This is the last chapter of My Little Sister. I was actually planning to drag this out for a few more chapters but I have fully lost my inspiration for this fic so you'll have to settle for this ending instead. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. I do, however, own Ellie and Murielle.

Chapter Fourteen

Bryan shifted uncomfortably in the white plastic chair, one hand holding a cup of coffee and the other holding the hand of the figure in front of him. His eyes flickered up briefly as Tala entered the room.

"I'm going back to the mansion to pick up a change of clothes. Want to come with?" Tala asked as he walked over to his lover and wrapped his arms round him in a loose embrace. Bryan shook his head mutely. Tala sighed. "It's not your fault, you know. This would've happened whether you'd been there or not." Tala sighed again when he got no response. "I'll bring you back a change of clothes. Be back in about an hour, 'kay?" Without waiting for a response, Tala planted a kiss on Bryan's temple and left the room.

Bryan waited until the footsteps faded before sighing and reaching up to brush a stray strand of lilac hair out of the eyes of the small girl in front of him. He knew Tala was probably right, he just about always was, but Bryan couldn't help but feel that if he had just been there, if he hadn't left Ellie on her own, then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be here in hospital.

Bryan sat back in his chair and closed his eyes as he remembered the series of events that led up to this…

Flashback

It was the end of November and the Christmas season was just around the around the corner. Ellie had fully recovered from the illness that had plagued her at the beginning of the month but Bryan was still reluctant to let Ellie go outside. This is probably what started it all.

Tala was notorious for being extremely organised so it came as no surprise when he said he was going Christmas shopping when it wasn't even December. It was a slight surprise, however, when Ellie asked if she could go with him. The surprise turned into understanding when she explained that she didn't want to do any shopping but to instead go outside and stretch her legs and after a lot of wearing down from Murielle and Tala, Bryan finally relented and agreed.

The next day they went shopping in central Moscow. It started of okay but after several hours of Tala's indecision and walking backwards and forwards between the same shops looking for a bargain, both of the Kuznetsov's legs were starting to feel the strain. As a result, whilst Tala continued shopping, Bryan and Ellie went to the park to sit down. There were other children in the park around Ellie's age so she went to play with them whilst Bryan sat down on a nearby bench and watched. Across the street, Bryan spied a street vendor selling hot drinks. Without telling Ellie, Bryan stood up to go and get them both a drink.

Ellie looked up and saw that Bryan was gone. She looked round, starting to panic a little when she couldn't see him. She walked to where she had last seen him and accidentally walked into a woman on her way.

"I'm sorry…" Ellie trailed off as she looked up. "Mama…" she whispered. The woman looked down and a look of extreme anger and disgust adorned her face.

"You…" The woman growled. She reached out a hand and wrapped it round the eight-year-olds neck. "How dare you show your face to me, you little bitch? After all I've done for you, how dare you disappear and then waltz back as if nothing happened? How dare you!" The hand tightened with every word.

"Mama…" Ellie rasped out, barely able to breathe. Mrs Kuznetsov let out an unsightly yell and threw her daughter against the nearest tree. Ellie whimpered as she hit the wood and staggered to her feet unsteadily. Her mother smashed the bottle she was carrying and jumped on Ellie, kicking and scratching, Ellie's skin slicing like bread under the sharp glass. A few of bystanders tried to drag the woman away but she had the strength of a furious wildcat and nobody succeeded.

Bryan, meanwhile, was walking back, coffee in one hand and hot chocolate in the other. He looked curiously at the big crowd that had gathered and paled as he looked over the tops of the people's heads and saw what was going on. He dropped the drinks and pushed his way through the crowd. He threw his mother of Ellie, not caring about how rough he was being, and stood protectively in front of Ellie. A few men from the crowd quickly grabbed the woman, preventing her from trying to have another go at Ellie. Keeping one distrustful eye on the woman, Bryan knelt down next to Ellie. She was barely conscious and was bleeding profusely from all over. Bryan's fingers ghosted over her cheek.

"Bry…" She whimpered before losing all consciousness. Everything after that seemed to blur together for Bryan as an ambulance came and Ellie was rushed to hospital where she was immediately taken to the operating room.

End Flashback

Bryan opened his eyes again and reluctantly gulped down the rest of his now freezing cold coffee. Upon arrival, Ellie had been diagnosed with several broken ribs, one of which had punctured her lung. Whilst the operation had overall successful, they had discovered that Ellie was allergic to the anaesthetic that they used, setting them back and costing them precious minutes in which they actually lost Ellie's heartbeat. They managed to get her heart beating again but the damage was done. Ellie had been in a coma for just a little under three and a half weeks and there was no sign of her waking up any time soon.

Bryan leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on the bed. He rested his head on his arms, one hand in Ellie's and looked at her face. Bryan was sad for obvious reasons but he was also sad that he wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with his little sister. It was going to be their first proper Christmas for both of them but it was now morning on Christmas Eve and Ellie was still comatose. Bryan's eyes teared up slightly and he began to slowly and quietly weep, the fatigue built up over the weeks finally getting to him as he fell asleep.

Many, many, many hours later, Bryan felt something moving beside him. He stirred and his eyes opened, blinking sleep from them as Bryan woke up. He noted a slight weight on his right side and a quick glance in that direction told him that Tala was there, leaning against him as Tala slept with a pile of clothes in his lap that were no doubtably for Bryan. Tala was still sleeping so he couldn't have woken Bryan up. After gently moving Tala so that he could move about without waking his lover up, Bryan set about trying to find out what woke him up.

"Bry…" Bryan quickly snapped his head in Ellie's direction. The girl's eyes were half open, the large bed around her dwarfing her body and making her seem a lot thinner than she actually was.

"Ellie…" Bryan whispered before quickly snapping into action. "Thank God you're awake! Lemme go and get one of the nurses…"

"Bry…wait…" Bryan stopped midstep and looked back at Ellie. Ellie forced herself into a sitting position, muscles weak from disuse, and held up her arms for a hug. Bryan immediately obliged and gently embraced the girl. Somewhere down the hallway a clock chimed twelve times and a smile spread across Bryan's face as he buried his nose into Ellie's soft hair.

"Bryan…"

"Merry Christmas lil sis…"

The End

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